Tennis Jamaica ordered to hold trials

Tennis Jamaica has been ordered by a Supreme Court judge to hold trials by October 26 to select the national team for the upcoming ITF 12 and under COTECC Team Masters tournament, November 1-7, in Monterey, Mexico.

The decision came as a result of proceedings brought against the local administration by the parents of number one ranked players, Johnnie Azar and Emma Dibbs.

The parents contend that they were not properly advised that a pre-qualifying tournament held in St Lucia would be used to select the four-member team. Tennis Jamaica did, however, make their selection based on the results of the St Lucian tournament, which was not attended by Azar and Dibbs.

This represented a departure from the selection policy used last year when a trial was used to select the national team for the same tournament.

RESPECTFUL OF RULING

In a statement, Tennis Jamaica said they are respectful of the court ruling and will hold the trials as ordered.

John Bailey, president of Tennis Jamaica, believes that the court proceedings was an unfortunate development.

"Whilst we do not agree with all the findings, we respect the judge's order and will act expeditiously and accordingly on her orders. We never imagined that this situation would have ended up in court, but it happened and we have learned from this experience and empathise with all the persons involved in this landmark case," Bailey said.

Parent John Azar noted, "Even if we had lost in the courts, there is no shame in losing certain fights. The real shame would be in not having fought the fight."

"Were my son to now lose every match in the trials is totally irrelevant. This is not about a trip to Mexico. It is about the young children involved ... knowing that the process was both transparent and fair for all," added Azar.